81 years of service to the 🌍. 17 #GlobalGoals for people & planet.
On today's #UNDay see how the UN makes a difference in the lives of everyone, everywhere👉 https://buff.ly/OyS3zho
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The United Nations celebrates its 81st anniversary on
Saturday, highlighting more than eight decades of work to advance
peace, human rights and development around the world.
On #UNDay, 24 October, the United Nations celebrates 81 years of work to advance peace, human rights and development for all.
As global challenges grow, Secretary-General @antonioguterres calls on countries to uphold the UN Charter.
United Nations Day heralds the entry into force of the UN Charter
in 1945. The global body officially came into being after the founding
document was ratified by a majority of its signatories, including the
five permanent members of the Security Council.
The day has been celebrated annually on 24 October since 1948.
The
agenda has remained unchanged: settling disputes through diplomacy,
combating poverty and hunger, promoting human rights and delivering
lifesaving aid to people affected by conflict, disasters and
displacement.
Humanity’s future
In his last message marking the day in charge of the UN, Secretary-General António Guterres said it stood for the idea that “humanity’s future depends on our ability to work together to advance peace, development and human rights.”
He
highlighted the profound challenges facing the world today, including
conflict, the climate crisis, rising inequalities and technological
advances outpacing the ability to govern them.
“The United Nations is an essential part of the fabric of our world,” he said. “And it’s needed more than ever.”
Prelude to the UN
As the Second World War raged, a remarkable international effort was already taking shape to help rebuild a shattered world.
Founded
in November 1943, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration (UNRRA) began its work before the United Nations itself
had been constituted.
Faced with hunger, disease, mass
displacement and devastation, it helped deliver the essentials of
survival and offered hope to millions struggling to rebuild their
lives.
Beyond emergency relief, UNRRA became a pioneering experiment in international cooperation.
UN Video highlights UNRRA’s extraordinary mission through archival footage and personal testimony.
Watch Before the UN: The Forgotten Story of UNRRA:
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Faster decisions in war do not always mean safer outcomes for civilians.
As AI is increasingly used in military operations, it can raise serious risks when life-or-death decisions depend on systems that may be unpredictable, biased, or difficult to control.
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An arms race is underway in the
development and deployment of new technologies in warfare, including
artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than making battlefields safer for
civilians, these technologies often increase risks and cause significant
harm.
What is AI in the military domain?
AI in the military domain refers to the
use of artificial intelligence in military systems and operations,
including autonomous weapon systems, military decision-support systems,
cyber operations and capabilities, logistics, surveillance and
intelligence analysis.
Does international humanitarian law apply to AI in warfare?
Yes. IHL applies to all means and methods of warfare, including the
use of AI technologies. Any use of force must comply with IHL principles
and rules, such as distinction (between civilians and civilian objects
on the one hand, and combatants and military objectives on the other),
proportionality and precautions.
Why is the ICRC concerned about the use of AI in the military domain?
The ICRC is concerned that the use of AI in the military could
accelerate the pace and scale of warfare, increase unpredictability and
reduce human control over the use of force, creating serious risks for
civilians.
AI systems are particularly vulnerable to failure in adversarial
environments, where opponents may deliberately try to deceive or
manipulate the systems, such as by tampering with data or exploiting
weaknesses.
The ICRC emphasizes a human-centred approach because humans – not
machines – remain legally responsible for decisions involving the use of
force. Human judgement is essential to ensuring compliance with IHL and
protecting civilians. AI systems should support human decision-making,
rather than impair or replace it.
What are the main applications of AI in the military domain which raise particular concern?
The ICRC has identified three applications of AI in the military domain that pose significant risks:
Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS): these systems, once activated, can autonomously select and engage targets without further human intervention.
AI Decision-Support Systems:
these systems process vast amounts of data to assist military
decision-making, but they carry risks related to inherent unreliability
and unpredictability, as well as human over-reliance on the system’s
outputs.
AI in Information and Communication Technologies:
AI is increasingly being used in cyber operations and integrated in
cyber capabilities, with the potential to increase the scale of
cyber-attacks, while also changing their nature and severity, especially
in terms of adverse impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Can technology companies become military targets if they support military operations?
Under IHL, technology companies and their employees are, prima facie,
civilian objects and are protected against attack. Such protection can,
however, be lost if the company’s personnel carry out certain
activities or if the company’s property is used in certain ways. For
instance, where specific tech company infrastructure or services are
used by a warring party to make an effective contribution to military
action and its total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization,
in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military
advantage to the adversary, it becomes a military objective.
The ICRC therefore encourages technology companies to carefully
assess how their products and services might be used in armed conflict.
Companies should also take steps to avoid contributing to violations of
IHL and to mitigate the risks their technologies may pose to civilians.
Does the ICRC engage with technology companies developing AI systems for use in the military domain?
Yes, the ICRC actively engages with technology companies and other
stakeholders involved in the development of AI systems. These
discussions focus on familiarising these companies with IHL, including
how their services and activities may expose their staff, assets and
customers to harm. They also focus on how AI systems can be designed and
developed to better support compliance with IHL and reduce civilian
harm.... READ MORE
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Humanitarian organizations provide emergency shelter and other essential support to #Palestinians displaced from their homes. But displacement continues to rise by the year while funding and operational space remain limited.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory mobilizes and coordinates assistance to people in need.
Humanitarian Situation Report | 25 September 2026
Highlights
Demolitions displaced
147 Palestinians across the West Bank in one week, more than three
times the 2026 weekly average, including 58 people in South ‘Anata
Bedouins, near the area designated for the E1 settlement expansion plan.
Israeli forces’ operations and movement restrictions disrupted
access to essential services for thousands of Palestinians in Ramallah
governorate, while operations by Israeli forces in Nablus temporarily
displaced families and closed schools and a health clinic.
Funding shortfalls threaten mobile health
services in Area C: 20 locations are at risk of losing mobile-clinic
coverage without continued funding, while 17 locations are already
without services.
In Gaza, shortages
of cancer medications, chemotherapy and radiotherapy supplies, dialysis
materials, insulin and engine oil – caused by underfunding and lack of
clearance for limited available medicines to enter Gaza – are disrupting
life-saving services.
The new academic year in Gaza began on 19 September with an estimated 200,000 children remaining out of school,
amid funding shortfalls. Partners had prepared by removing rubble,
cleaning some classrooms and providing bags and stationery. In the
Strip, approximately 495,000 preschool and school-aged children are
enrolled in learning spaces supported through the UN and partners’
humanitarian response.
Funding shortfalls and restrictions are severely constraining preparations for the rainy season,
with very limited available stocks covering only a fraction of the
needs; hundreds of child-friendly spaces and protection services face
disruptions.
Across the Gaza Strip, 451 displacement sites identified as being at
high risk of flooding are hosting an estimated 464,402 people.
Overview
Violence and restrictions continue to drive humanitarian needs in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while shortfalls in humanitarian funding
are further holding back relief efforts. Addressing Member States as
part of the General Assembly High-level Week, the United Nations
Secretary-General António Guterres said that "we must not lose sight of the devastating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
Regarding Gaza, he said
that “the resumption of assistance since the ceasefire was announced
last October has brough some relief – but conditions remain
intolerable... International law, including international humanitarian
law, is brazenly violated. Humanitarian access remains severely
restricted, and the level of human suffering is still off the charts.”
He reiterated the need to allow the UN to perform its mandates in Gaza
and for UN and humanitarian personnel to be protected, stressing that
all parties must comply with international law and the orders of the
International Court of Justice.
Regarding the West Bank, he said that "record levels of settler attacks
and relentless efforts to expand settlements are pushing Palestinian
communities to the breaking point. Such actions are unlawful and
unjust." The Secretary-General further said that violence,
displacement and settlement expansion by Israel "are bulldozing the
path to peace and raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing."... READ MORE https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-25-september-2026
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Today, the United States has imposed sanctions on the International
Criminal Court as an institution. This unprecedented step follows a
series of designations against thirteen independent Judges and
prosecutors who serve the cause of justice.
This measure targets an independent judicial institution, created by
treaty and entrusted by 125 States Parties with investigating and
prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime
of aggression. It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and
to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do. It is an
assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the
international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no
one stands above the law.
The designation is aimed at disrupting
the Court’s operations and at intimidating those who work for or
cooperate with the Court. The Court, for its part, will not be deterred.
“The Court will continue to fully discharge its mandate, with
independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and
the evidence, for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes”
said ICC President Tomoko Akane.
Yet the Court cannot stand
alone. Its fate now rests also in the hands of the States that created
it. The Rome Statute is a collective promise that the most serious
crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go
unpunished. That promise is only as strong as the resolve of those who
made it.
There may be challenges. But, together with its States
Parties, the Court has made considerable efforts to ensure the
continuity and resilience of its activities. The Court calls upon States
to continue taking concrete actions, including to ensure that the Court
continues to have the necessary means to continue its work. This is not
just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the
international order grounded upon the rule of law.
No one should
be punished for serving the cause of justice. History will judge this
moment. Future generations, and above all the victims of mass
atrocities, will ask how we responded when an institution created to
protect them came under attack. They will ask whether the Court held
firm and whether the international community defended the principles it
proclaimed or allowed them to be abandoned under pressure.
For further information, please contact the ICC Public Affairs Unit. You can also follow the Court’s activities on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Flickr.
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The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a
person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way
towards a more comprehensive global legal order. This year’s laureate
has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide are prosecuted.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has
decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navanethem “Navi”
Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal
legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long
career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in
Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer,
confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A
common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time.
This year’s laureate has significantly
enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a
judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently,
she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the
International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused
of genocide.
In historic international court cases,
she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and
violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the
institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and
steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international
jurists of our time.
The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded
125 years ago. Already then, the Norwegian Nobel Committee underscored
the importance of resolving conflicts through international law – a
theme that has remained prominent throughout the history of the peace
prize. The reach of international law expanded after the Second World
War, in particular with the creation of the UN
institutions. The key insight was that lasting peace must be built on
legal principles, not on the will of the strong or a fragile balance of
power. Additional legal mechanisms were introduced in the post-war
decades, and momentum picked up further after the end of the Cold War.
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The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to South Africa's Navi Pillay for her work on international law and human rights.
| Photo Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP
The
2026 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her
efforts to promote peace and international law. The Prize’s press
statement described Pillay as a person with exceptional courage and
integrity, who has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal
order.
“The system of
international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are
under attack,” Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel
Committee, said. “We see a shift towards power politics at the expense
of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice.”
“Navi
Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles
in our time. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support,
fortify and expand the global rule of law,” he added.
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Assal Rad, headline fixer & author of DON'T SAY PALESTINE How the Media Manufactured Consent for Genocide
If you’re not writing the truth about crimes against humanity, you’re culpable in them.
Activist
and Middle East historian Assal Rad is known as the “headline fixer”
for her powerful posts that illustrate how mainstream Western media’s
coverage of the Gaza Genocide is filled with double standards. Israelis
are described as “children” and “civilians,” while Palestinians are
“people under 18” and “collateral damage”; Israelis are killed; Palestinians die.
Even in the wake of the so-called ceasefire, major Western media
continually obfuscates Israeli violence in Palestine: For example, the
Associated Press reported that “Gaza’s living conditions worsen as
strong winds and hypothermia kill 5.” No, Rad corrects: Gaza’s living conditions worsen as Israel blocks aid.
In Don’t Say Palestine, Rad reveals a pattern of dehumanizing language—in outlets from CNN and the AP to the BBC and The New York Times—so
consistently employed throughout the Palestinian genocide that it
amounts to a policy. Mainstream Western media consistently downplays
Israeli responsibility, “others” Palestinians, and casts doubt on
inviolable tenets of international law like the sanctity of hospitals
and journalists in war zones. This groundbreaking, eye-opening exposé
offers both a moral reckoning and an urgent call to action, mapping with
devastating clarity the media’s complicity in whitewashing a human
rights crisis.
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"A vital work... Rad's intellectual rigor and moral clarity are unwavering"
PRAISE
“Amidst some of the
worst journalistic failures of this century, Assal Rad has consistently done
vital work to point out the myriad ways institutional hypocrisy, cowardice, and
willful obliviousness work hand-in-hand with state violence to justify and normalize
any manner of atrocity. Her intellectual rigor and moral clarity—not only on
the journalistic malpractice that so often marks Western media coverage of the
ongoing genocide in Gaza, but on how this malpractice eventually seeps into all
coverage—are unwavering. At a time when it would have been so much more
convenient to stay silent, I and so many others are grateful for her
willingness to speak.” —Omar El Akkad, National Book Award–winning author of
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
“Eighty years ago,
George Orwell wrote that ‘In our time, political speech and writing are largely
the defense of the indefensible.’ Assal Rad shows, in painful detail, that in
the case of Israel-Palestine, this remains true.” —Peter Beinart, author of Being
Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
“Throughout the course of the Gaza Genocide, historian Assal Rad has been a
beacon of clarity in a media landscape clouded by lies. In this important new
work of media criticism, Rad dissects the biases, distortions, and falsehoods
by which press institutions conceal the atrocities of empire—as well as
delivering a powerful call for accountability, justice, and truth.” —Molly
Crabapple, author of Here Where We Live Is Our Country
“Assal Rad brilliantly exposes how, for the past
years, reality itself had been distorted to fit a political ecosystem. Western
media does not simply omit or distort reality, but actively launders it.
Language reframes and ultimately erases both violence and responsibility.
‘Self-defense’ replaces the naming of genocide. These linguistic choices reveal
intentionality in complicity: not neutral but political, shaping whose lives
are grievable and whose deaths are rendered acceptable. In Don’t Say
Palestine, Rad demonstrates how media narratives create permissive
conditions for genocide through strategic omission, selective visibility,
euphemism, and the erasing of Palestinian voices. When those same institutions
dictate what can and cannot be said, this is not press freedom but censorship.
And when they uncritically repeat the claims of a state responsible for
unprecedented violence, in ways that obscure or diminish its gravity, this is
not reporting—it is complicity.” —Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur
on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and author of When the World Sleeps
